Game Development Essentials: Online Game Development (Paperback)

by Rick Hall (Author), Jeannie Novak (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
With an innovative, business-model approach, Game Development Essentials: Online Game Development provides the essentials needed to achieve long-term success with Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). This book takes a significant and valuable departure from traditional game development books by addressing MMOG development as a complex, multi-faceted, service-oriented business, instead of focusing solely on technical, artistic, or design techniques. The resulting multi-dimensional focus allows readers to design their game and organize their development process with the entire business in mind. Coverage includes the key differences between single player games and MMOGs, as well as how the various components of the development process, such as the business model, marketing plan, gaming community and technical constraints, influence one another and determine the success of the MMOG.

About the Author
Rick Hall is a 15-year veteran of the gaming industry with experience as a producer, studio head, programmer, and game designer. During his time in games, he has worked on RPGs, adventure games, RTS games, flight sims, fighting games, sports sims, and even a fishing simulation. He has worked on PC, PlayStation, N64, PS2, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and online platforms. He started his career at Paragon Software, a studio that eventually became the core development group for Take 2's initial 1994 start-up. After leaving Take 2, he joined EA's Origin studio in Austin, Texas where for 5 years he served as a live producer on Ultima Online, and later as executive producer on Ultima X Odyssey. In 2004, Rick joined EA's Tiburon studio in Orlando, Florida, where he has been a Senior Producer on the Madden Football handheld products. For the past eighteen months, Rick has been teaching in a Master¿s Degree for Computer Game Development at the University of Central Florida¿s FIEA Program.

Jeannie Novak is Lead Author and Series Editor of the widely acclaimed Game Development Essentials series. Through Indiespace, an interactive entertainment company she founded in 1994, Jeannie consults with creative professionals in the music, film, and television industries to help them migrate to the game industry. Jeannie is the Program Director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online. She has been a game instructor and course development expert at UCLA Extension, Art Center College of Design, DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Technical Institute, UC Berkeley, and the Academy of Entertainment and Technology at Santa Monica College. Jeannie holds a BA in Mass Communication and an MA in Communication Management. She currently serves on the MMOG and Online Excellence committees for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS).

Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Delmar Cengage Learning; 1 edition (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1418052671
• ISBN-13: 978-1418052676
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #406,044 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Game Development Essentials: Online Game Development by Rick Hall, December 4, 2008

By	Patricia A. Bigley - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a seasoned industry professional and an Executive Recruiter in the game industry, I found this book to be a "must read" for everyone. It offers a great deal of information and detail. I was very impressed with the book and strongly recommend it. Pat Bigley, President Prime Candidate, Inc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for game developers, both aspiring and established!, December 2, 2008

By	M. Laurence (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've ever considered making a Massively Multiplayer Online Game of any genre (or are, at the very least, interested in what goes into it behind the scenes), I'd strongly recommend picking up this book. Heck, if you're just in it for general game development, I'd say it would still interest you. Besides charting the potential pitfalls, hidden costs, and specialized needs of online game development, this book also features some great reviews of creative design methodology, often with an eye for how they can best be applied to entertaining an online audience.

Personally, I got it to get a better idea of how to maintain player interest over the extremely long playing time that's standard for MMOs, but have found all sorts of other useful tidbits along the way.

As for general content, the book is nicely laid-out and written, managing to get some very involved concepts across quickly and clearly. It's even got a number of interviews with other industry veterans for some different perspectives. All in all, very useful.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun, easy read, December 2, 2008

By	cheryl (Austin, tx) - See all my reviews

I'm not a game maker, but it's really fun to understand how these MMOGs are made. This book was easy to read, explained the development process with some interesting anecdotes, and generally just answered a lot of the unexplained mysteries of how these games are made. The book is great fun to read, and even if you're just a MMOG addict, and not a MMOG maker, it's worth buying.